WEST PALM BEACH, FL. State inspectors ordered Seasons 401 on Northwood Road closed on Monday after documenting roach and fly activity inside the restaurant, the third time the Northwood Road establishment has been emergency-closed in less than two years.
The closure order took effect April 20, 2026. Inspectors returned the same day, and the restaurant was cleared to reopen at 2:24 p.m. after the activity was addressed.
What Inspectors Found
Seasons 401: Emergency Closure History
The closure inspection on April 20 produced two high-severity violations and two intermediate violations. The high-severity findings included improper hand and arm washing technique and inadequate shell stock identification and records.
The hand-washing citation is not a paperwork problem. Inspectors document this violation when an employee makes a washing attempt but uses a technique that leaves pathogens on their hands, meaning contamination continues even when a worker believes they have washed properly.
The shell stock violation is equally serious. Seasons 401 serves shellfish, and without proper identification tags and records tied to each batch, there is no way to trace oysters, clams, or mussels back to their harvest source if a customer gets sick.
The two intermediate violations added to the picture. Inspectors found multi-use utensils that had not been properly cleaned and single-use items being reused. Both involve surfaces that come into direct contact with food or a customer's mouth.
What These Violations Mean
Roach and fly activity is among the narrowest categories that trigger an automatic emergency closure under Florida law. It is not a citation for the potential presence of pests. Inspectors observed live activity, and the order to vacate followed immediately.
The hand-washing technique violation compounds that risk. When pest activity is present and the employees preparing food are not fully decontaminating their hands, the two problems intersect directly. A worker who has touched an infested surface and then washes improperly carries whatever was on that surface to the next plate.
Shell stock traceability is a separate category of risk entirely. Shellfish are filter feeders harvested from specific water bodies, and those water bodies can carry norovirus, Vibrio bacteria, or other pathogens depending on conditions at the time of harvest. The identification tag system exists so that a health department can pull a specific lot from circulation the moment illnesses are reported. Without those records at Seasons 401, that chain breaks.
Improperly cleaned multi-use utensils develop bacterial biofilms within 24 hours of use. Those biofilms are resistant to standard wiping and rinsing, meaning contamination persists across multiple service periods. Reusing single-use items, whether gloves, cups, or foil, creates a parallel contamination pathway because those items were not manufactured to withstand repeated contact and cannot be adequately sanitized.
The Longer Record
Monday's closure was not the first time inspectors have shut Seasons 401 down for pests. On May 31, 2024, the restaurant was emergency-closed for roach activity and allowed to reopen the same day. The April 2026 closure documents roach and fly activity, the same category of violation, roughly eleven months later.
The facility has 35 inspections on record and 152 total violations. That volume spans a permanent food service operation that has been inspected repeatedly, meaning the violations are distributed across a known history, not concentrated in a single bad stretch.
The months between the two closures were not clean. On February 11, 2025, inspectors documented four high-severity violations and one intermediate violation in a single visit, requiring a follow-up inspection the next day. Then in January 2026, the facility produced five high-severity violations on January 20 and still had three high-severity violations remaining when inspectors returned on January 21.
Three inspections between March and January of this year produced no high-severity findings, suggesting the restaurant can meet standards when conditions align. But the pattern of pest-related closures, heavy violation counts in the months surrounding each closure, and a third emergency order in under two years places Monday's shutdown in a specific context. This was not a first offense or an isolated finding.
The restaurant was cleared to reopen Monday afternoon. Whether the underlying conditions that produced two pest-related closures in less than two years have been resolved is a question the next unannounced inspection will answer.